Production History
The Philadelphia Music Theater Works has quickly established itself as one of our city's most promising and most talked about new creative forces in the theater. We are proud to have successfully produced inventive and inspired performances you won't find anywhere else in town:
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Our sold-out, inaugural FRESH:
New Musicals. Stripped., a
groundbreaking performance of new work for the musical theater - the
scope of which had never been seen in Philadelphia - FRESH
brought together over half a dozen new writers for the musical theater
(including both Philly writers and beyond) and a cast of Philly singing
actors, Broadway stars, Barrymore Award winners and many more for an
unforgettable evening of theater.
June 13, 2008 @ 8PM | The Ethical Society Building Hosted by Tom Dooley and Jeremiah Downes With performances by Sarah Bolt, Mat Burrow, Billy Bustamante, Amanda Brizzi, Jeremiah Downes, Jillian Louis, Stearns Matthews, Joy Mayweather, Kimberly Rehfuss, Fred Ross, Jeremy Scott and the original cast of Jailbirds Musical Direction by Christopher Ertelt |
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A highly acclaimed,
sold-out, staged reading of Philly composer Charles Gilbert's Watch
the Birdie at the Walnut Street
Studio 5.
August 8-9, 2008 @ 8PM | Walnut Street Theater Studio 5 Cast: Claudia Carlsson, Michael Doherty, Sheira Feuerstein, Alex Keiper, Stearns Matthews and Jason Michael Directed by Jeremiah Downes Musical Staging by Nancy Kantra Music Direction by Christopher Ertelt |
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In January we brought to
Philly the 2008 Richard Rodgers Award winner Ryan Scott Oliver in an
original, developmental evening of songs from this celebrated new voice
in the American musical theater. The
Ryan Scott Oliver Project
included performances from an entirely local cast which featured
Barrymore Award winners and nominees.
January 8, 2009 @ 8PM | The Ethical Society Building With performances by Mat Burrow, Jeremiah Downes, Sarah Gliko, Colleen Hazlett-O'Brien, Alex Keiper and Michael Philip O'Brien Directed by Billy Bustamante Music Direction by Christoper Ertelt Conceived & Developed by Ryan Scott Oliver and Billy Bustamante |
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And this summer, we
brought yet another new and exciting voice to our audience with a
workshop featuring the music of fledgling songwriter Joey Contreras in This
Thing Called Love. Presented in
cooperation with the Ira Brind School of Theater Arts at the University
of the Arts.
July 19-20, 2009 @ 8PM | Laurie Beechman Cabaret Theater at the University of the Arts Cast: Laura Catlaw, Joey Contreras, Jeremiah Downes, Sarah Gliko, Brad Greer, Michael Linden and Janet Rowley Conceived & Developed by Joey Contreras and Jeremiah Downes Musical Staging by Jeremiah Downes Music Supervision by Christopher Ertelt |
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This January we
presented Vintage: A
Celebration of Broadway's Golden Age.
A gala benefit event, the evening featured Broadway stars, Barrymore
Award winners and nominees
and Philly favorites performing songs from Broadway's classic and
beloved musicals.
January 25, 2010 @ 8PM | The Ethical Society Building Hosted by Jeremiah Downes and Alex Keiper With Performances by Claudia Carlsson, Laura Catlaw, Joey Contreras, Janine DiVita, Michael Doherty, Rory Donovan, Jeremiah Downes, Sarah Gliko, Brad Greer, Alex Keiper, Michael Linden, Stearns Matthews, Janet Rowley, Kate Schwarz and Amanda Wertz. Musical Direction by Christopher Ertelt |
| On July 1, 2010 we
presented Save
This: Open House and Concert Event.
This special evening was the culmination of an extentsive online
campaign to aid in preserving Philly Music Theater Works, one of
Philly's most promising new theater companies. The evning included a
premiere by Philly writers Martin and Biello, an original song written
for the event by Jamison Foreman and performances by Joey Contreras (This Thing Called Love). July 1, 2010 @ 6PM | Laurie Beechman Cabaret Theater at the University of the Arts Hosted by Jeremiah Downes With performances by Billy Bustamante, Laura Catlaw, Joey Contreras, Peter Andrew Danzig, Jeremiah Downes, Nathan Nolen Edwards, Christopher Ertelt, AJ Luca, Lindsay Mauck, Jarrod Markman, Sam Nagel, Caitlin Reilly, Janet Rowley, Tommy Strawser and Ryan Townsend. Musical Direction by Christopher Ertelt |









